MULESING is now a "minor issue" with leading overseas retailers, according to Australian Wool Innovation director David Webster.
Responding to questions at AWI's annual meeting in Sydney last week, Mr Webster said while retailers' corporate social responsibility departments were exerting pressure for non-mulesed wool, their buying departments were doing otherwise.
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"Believe me, mulesing is now a minor issue with buyers and probably too also with consumers," he said.
Mr Webster's comments are contrary to what WoolProducers president Don Hamblin and executive director Greg Weller gleaned from the meetings of the retailers at which they were observers.
Mr Hamblin said bigger retailers, particularly the US, remained sensitive to the mulesing issue.
AWI chairman Wal Merriman was also downplaying the mulesing issue.
"Those that want unmulesed wool, they can come and buy it and give price signals," he said.
"That's the only way there will be an increased supply of unmulesed wool."
AWI chief executive Brenda McGahan, who was also on the trade delegation, said the retailers they visited were not happy with the change of AWI policy on the December, 2010 deadline for an end to mulesing.
"But they deserve to know the truth," Ms McGahan said.
Victorian wool grower Andrew Farran, who described the mulesing issue as AWI's "elephant in the room", said the responses were what he expected from an "entrenched" board.
Mr Farran said he would have liked AWI to have been more forthcoming about what the retailers had told the delegation.
"There are lot of big wool growers who need to make practical decisions with their flocks over the next few years," Mr Farran said.
Will Lempriere, head of the Lempriere Australia and The Merino Company, was also sceptical of the AWI view.
Mr Lempriere, who was this week in China establishing a supply line of non-mulesed wool, quoted a list of international retailers seeking non-mulesed wool.
They included Marks and Spencer, Nike, Hugo Boss, Nordstrom, Next, H&M and North Face.
Peter Vandeleur head of the direct supply wool chain NewMerino also disagreed that mulesing was now a minor issue.
"Certainly things might be quiet on the mulesing issue at the moment, but nothing has changed with the retailers," Mr Vandeleur.
He said his advice to grower clients was to plan to end mulesing as soon as possible.
